Improved compound anchor



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SAMUEL NYE MILLER, OF TEST ROXBURY, MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPROVED COMPOUND ANCHOR.

To @ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SAMUEL NYE MILLER, of W est Roxbury, in the countyof Norfolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and ImprovedAnchor for Holding Ships; and I do hereby declare that the following isa full and exact description thereof.

The nature of my invention consists in having two separate shanks(marked A and B in Figure l of the inclosed drawings) and linkes to themC and D, the shanks being confined together near the rings by the boltE, secured at one end by a large head and at the other by a strong nutor key F, and separated at their elbows or crowns the length of one ofthe linkes bya spur or brace projecting from the shank A. In the othershank B there is a hole, through which the end of the spur G passes, andis secured by a nut or key at H. The lnkes are pointed in oppositedirections and so disposed that it is impossible for the anchor to lieotherwise than with one of the tlukes in the ground.

There being no stock to this anchor it is not liable to become stockfoul in letting it go, nor can a vessel be stock rode, as it is termed,by the stock entering the ground and being dragged alongr until it meetsa hard vein of earth or a stone, when the stock is bent or broken andthe anchor is useless; but in this form the instant a strain comes onthe cable the anchor enters and is drawn down into the mud until thebroad surface of the fluke presents its full power of resistance. Theti'uke sinks readily into the ground from the effect of itsplowshare-like point, which passes the earth on one siderinstead oflifting up and breaking it.

By unscrewing the nut F and withdrawing the bolt E, which connects thetwo shanks at the rings, and also detaching the shank B from the end ofthe spur G, both tlukes can be turned downward and geared as in Fig. 2ofthe drawings, becoming, in effect, a double mooring-anchor,77 whichsinks with certainty both fiukes in the ground by attaching to themiddle of the span-chain I, which connects the two elbows and is twicethe length ot one of the ukes, an empty beef-barrel, small water-Cask,or anything or sufiicient buoyancy to insure the turning of the ukesdown by its resistance to the sinking of the anchor. To this chain thebuoy-rope is also made fast.

In many ports ships are obliged to lie moored, and much inconvenience isexperienced with the old form of anchor by the fluke, which stands upfrom the ground, catching the cables of the ships as they sheer aboutwith the wind or tide. In my anchor this ditiicult-y is entirelyobviated, vfor when the iiukes are sunk in the mud there is nothingabove the ground which can catch a chain or hawser.

In anchoring upon a lee-shore the anchor, being disposed as above, willtake a double hold of the ground, thus rendering the anchorage moresecure.

It one of the iiukes or shanks should be broken near the elbow or crown,(the place where they usually break,) this anchor can yet be madeavailable by lashing a spar of the length of the shank and one iiukeacross the remaining shank to the spur or brace G, as in Fig. It thenbecomes the same as the common one-tluked mooring-anchor, and can beused in the same manner or as the double anchor described above bysecuring to the ends of the spar or temporary stock a rope of twice itslength, and from the middle or bight ot that extend another to thc ringat' the elbow; then at the bight or where the ropes are united secure abuoy or small caskand let go the anchor (the iuke will strike its pointinto the ground;) or it can be lowered down by a rope made fast to theelbow or crown, as is the ,mode with the mooring-anchor now in use. Inthe old form of anchor if the shank is broken both iiukes are lost andthe anchor is useless.

It is frequently necessary to carry out anchors in boats, which service,it' in the night-time or in a heavy sea, is always attended with greatperil, because ot' the anchorstock lying athwart the boats gunwaleselnbarrassing the men in rowing and its liability to turn and the stockcatch in the boats quarter when about to be let go. In carrying out thisanchor of my invention there is no such danger, there being no stock. Itlies along the middle of the boat with ukes over the stern, and when thehawser is run out the anchor follows without the possibility of fowlingor catching in the boat.

By the mode in which this anchor is made greater strength is insuredthan can be obtained in the old one with the same weight, each shank andfluke being in shal't forged into shape and then heated at the properplace and bent into the form requisite without the necessity of weldingany part but the can be done while the anchor hangs at the cat-head andwith greater ease than when on deck by taking ont the key, drawing offthe shank B, and allowing it to drop to its fellow. Then by the tacklehooked to the span-chain it is taken over the ships side.

In case of extremity this anchor can be separated and used as two bylashing across the shank A at G a spar fora temporary stock and drivingthrough the hole in the shank B at II a hand-spike and lashing thereto aspar, as on the shank A, then rig them with buoys, as described aboveand illustrated in Fig. 3. Thus arranged the anchor, being provided withtwo rings, can be shackled to two chains or cables, thereby securinggreater safety to the ship than if moored With but one.

Vhat I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

The above-described anchor for holding ships.

SAML. NYE MILLER. Witnesses:

I. II. PRINCE, BEN S. FREEMAN.

